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A/B Testing in the Small

Paulsson, Amalia ; Runeson, Per LU orcid and Ros, Rasmus LU (2022) 23:rd International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement, PROFES In Lecture Notes in Computer Science 13709. p.449-463
Abstract
Previous research on A/B testing and continuous experimentation has mostly focused on large-scale settings with company-external customers. However, work efficiency and satisfaction for company coworkers may be highly related to internal tools and their fit-for-use. In this study, we therefore explore A/B testing for online services exclusively used by company co-workers. We A/B tested two versions of Customer Admin, a tool that helps 34 500 IKEA co-workers to interact with customer data. The study comprised i) stakeholder interviews to understand objectives and phrase the experimentation goals, and ii) A/B test execution where data was collected and processed from approximately 350 users for 33 days. While the user base is relatively... (More)
Previous research on A/B testing and continuous experimentation has mostly focused on large-scale settings with company-external customers. However, work efficiency and satisfaction for company coworkers may be highly related to internal tools and their fit-for-use. In this study, we therefore explore A/B testing for online services exclusively used by company co-workers. We A/B tested two versions of Customer Admin, a tool that helps 34 500 IKEA co-workers to interact with customer data. The study comprised i) stakeholder interviews to understand objectives and phrase the experimentation goals, and ii) A/B test execution where data was collected and processed from approximately 350 users for 33 days. While the user base is relatively large for this internal system, the primary metric data collected was too scarce to allow distinction between the two versions. However, secondary metrics and a user questionnaire suggest that the users are more efficient in the new menu design and that the users prefer it to the old. We conclude that A/B testing requires lots of data, making it less feasible for internal users, also for large, global organizations. Thus, we propose combining quantitative and qualitative evaluation of internal tools and propose further research on how to adapt A/B testing for smaller-scale settings. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement
series title
Lecture Notes in Computer Science
editor
Taibi, Davide ; Kuhrmann, Marco and Abrahamsson, Pekka
volume
13709
pages
15 pages
publisher
Springer
conference name
23:rd International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement, PROFES
conference location
Jyväskylä, Finland
conference dates
2022-11-21 - 2022-11-23
external identifiers
  • scopus:85142673584
ISSN
1611-3349
0302-9743
ISBN
978-3-031-21388-5
978-3-031-21387-8
DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-21388-5_31
project
Continuous Experimentation and Optimization
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b9cda931-3414-4a24-ac5c-4bcd1c09f178
date added to LUP
2022-10-16 20:04:42
date last changed
2024-06-13 10:03:32
@inproceedings{b9cda931-3414-4a24-ac5c-4bcd1c09f178,
  abstract     = {{Previous research on A/B testing and continuous experimentation has mostly focused on large-scale settings with company-external customers. However, work efficiency and satisfaction for company coworkers may be highly related to internal tools and their fit-for-use. In this study, we therefore explore A/B testing for online services exclusively used by company co-workers. We A/B tested two versions of Customer Admin, a tool that helps 34 500 IKEA co-workers to interact with customer data. The study comprised i) stakeholder interviews to understand objectives and phrase the experimentation goals, and ii) A/B test execution where data was collected and processed from approximately 350 users for 33 days. While the user base is relatively large for this internal system, the primary metric data collected was too scarce to allow distinction between the two versions. However, secondary metrics and a user questionnaire suggest that the users are more efficient in the new menu design and that the users prefer it to the old. We conclude that A/B testing requires lots of data, making it less feasible for internal users, also for large, global organizations. Thus, we propose combining quantitative and qualitative evaluation of internal tools and propose further research on how to adapt A/B testing for smaller-scale settings.}},
  author       = {{Paulsson, Amalia and Runeson, Per and Ros, Rasmus}},
  booktitle    = {{International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement}},
  editor       = {{Taibi, Davide and Kuhrmann, Marco and Abrahamsson, Pekka}},
  isbn         = {{978-3-031-21388-5}},
  issn         = {{1611-3349}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  pages        = {{449--463}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Lecture Notes in Computer Science}},
  title        = {{A/B Testing in the Small}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21388-5_31}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/978-3-031-21388-5_31}},
  volume       = {{13709}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}